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Elizabeth Knight

read the part about eye liner! =) 

they call you a prostitute, we call you a child...

newest blog entry from untilthen.org

an organization that is dear to my heart and was founded by very close family friend's of ours. 

get informed... I just bought the book mentioned and look forward to reading it, lets share thoughts and read it together friends! xo

they call you a prostitute, we call you a child

Growing up, when my parents told me not to talk to strangers or go anywhere without them knowing, I always thought they were too protective. I grew up in a small town where everyone knew who was at the grocery store at any given moment, so the thought that I would ever even encounter a stranger was foreign.  I was raised an ignorant child, never knowing of the dangers of the world or an unsafe place. When I first travelled outside the small bubble of my community, I was shocked to learn of ghettos and disease, of gangsters and hardship. There are millions of children just like me, unaware of reality and protected to a point of isolation. On the outside, life is perfect; the only dismay is having to keep up with the Jones’. But what no one knows is that 1 in 6 of us is sexually abused before we turn 18.

My heart is still recouping from reading “Renting Lacy”, written by former congresswoman Linda Smith. This biographical book is packed with powerful stories of 11 year old girls abducted into the commercial sex industry, plucked from their peaceful environments and thrust into the evil arms of abusing men, some of whom their families had trusted.

Rehabilitating street girls is the greatest challenge we face in the work we do. Sexual abuse is suffered by both boys and girls, the only difference is that the boys become men and defend themselves with their strength… and often end up abusing younger boys and/or girls in turn because of the psychological scars. The reality for girls is that they are seen as an invaluable commodity, and are commonly sold, traded or enslaved for sexual exploitation. Trafficking in persons has higher rates than weapons or drugs. Rape is now used as a weapon in war, and more than 100,000 children in the United States alone are raped repeatedly each year as part of the

commercial sex industry.

A street kids is…

-A child who has been a victim of sexual violence either by strangers or those known to them who live on the streets and is subject to more sexual violence.

-A child who is forced to engage in “survival sex” to secure food, safety and/or shelter.

-A child who is exploited by others for sexual or financial purposes who has no resource but life alone on the streets.

We here at UntilThen recommend that you read “Renting Lacy”, and your life will forever be changed and the children in your life will be safer because of it.